Record hot weather and a World Cup retail rush have pushed online shopping to its highest level in five years, defying analyst expectations of a decline in sales.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the volume of retail sales in Great Britain grew 1% month on month in June, against predictions of a 0.3% drop. Year-on-year sales climbed 4.2%, almost double the 2.3% analysts had forecast.
“Hot weather and World Cup rush push online sales to highest in five years, defying decline predictions.”
“Internet retailers did especially well, with businesses telling us that this was because of promotions and the warm weather, with strong demand in June for outdoor products, air conditioning and clothing,” said Hannah Finselbach, a senior statistician at the ONS. “With internet retailers faring well, the proportion of online sales has risen to its highest since spring 2021 when coronavirus restrictions were ending.”
Non-store retailing, primarily online retailers, saw sales soar 4.4% in June, following a 6.1% rise in May. Textile, clothing and footwear stores also enjoyed a strong month, with sales up 1.9% compared with May – the largest monthly rise since September last year. Sales at other non-food stores, including computer and telecoms retailers, rose 1.8% month on month.
However, not all retailers benefited from the heatwave. Department stores reported a 1.7% month-on-month sales decline, after a 2.5% rise the previous month when buyers snapped up fans and paddling pools. Household goods stores also suffered, with sales down 0.6%.
“Retailers scored an early summer goal in June, with retail sales outperforming expectations as warm weather, promotions and World Cup fever helped unlock consumer spending,” said Samuel Edwards, head of client portfolio management at financial services firm Ebury.
After a revised 0.7% fall in April, two months of hot weather fuelled 0.6% overall growth in retail sales in the quarter to the end of June compared with the first three months of the year.
The figures suggest that despite broader economic pressures, shoppers were willing to spend on seasonal items and online deals – a trend that may test high street retailers further as summer continues.